The Official Canadian DIS Meal/Snack Tips

[SandraC]

Hi All ~ I thought it would be fun to start a Meal/Snack Tips Thread!

Here are my tips!

Grocery Shop List
* water
* juices
* milk
* cereal [that we can't get in Canada] one per kid
* inexpensive bowls [we get four each of cutley from the food court]
* flat bread for fajitas and other sandwiches
* fajitas fixin's, salsa, sour cream, bag of shredded cheese & lettuce
* bread
* peanut butter
* jam
* fruit
* veggies
* dip
* cookies
* snacky food we can't get in Canada

Restaurant Meals

* We started eating a few meals off-site; we like Sweet Tomatoes, Olive Garden & Sizzler.

* At least one character meal; breakfast is least expensive and a lovely way to start a Disney morning.

* We resort hop so we can see all the resorts and hit the food courts, ie: dinner at AK food court [awesome African salad!] and then dessert at Poly for Hawaiian fare. This is a great way to experience the deluxe resorts without the extra expense of staying there. Each food court offers themed meals too!

* EPCOT Eating Around The World! This is one of our favourite meals. We go to each counter service at each country represented at Epcot and order one kids meal. It's only $3.99 and we share it to experience food from different countries. We usually have to do this over two evenings because we get full after four of five countries!

* A late lunch at a buffet is an inexpensive way to enjoy buffets. We like doing this at Trails End Buffet on a non-park day!

SO WHAT ARE YOUR TIPS!

Sandra

 

[MoserFamily]

I guess my best tip is to eat your table service meals at lunch. The menu is practically the same but they're way cheaper. Portions might be a tad smaller as well, but let's face it, US portions are huge. We never eat a whole lunch portion anyway. Plus, the table service is a nice way to sit down and let your feet rest.

Sandi

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I brought those mini boxes of cereal last time and instant porridge as well as things like fruit-to-go bars for snacks. We bought the milk at the food court and they had hot water for tea/coffee. We filled our re-fillable mugs with the hot water. That way we really didn't need much snack foods. Like the OP we did our only character meal at breakfast. We also brought crystal light packages and kool-aid packages for my DN. We didn't like the taste of the water, but mixed in with those, it tasted fine. And the bottled water was just so expensive!

 

[mackeyapp]

Don't forget yogourt to mix with those fresh strawberries and bananas and also their yummy English Muffins to toast and top with peanut butter.

We also like to pick up a block of cheese to have with crackers for a snack plus they are (great with some wine for DH & I.)

 

[dancin Disney style]

I like the fajita idea.....throw in some hot roasted chicken from the food court.

This time we are going to bring the mini cereal that is in the bowl (looks like the cup-o-noodles) it's a bit bigger and already in a bowl. I've seen it at Costco...a bit more expensive than the boxes but we end up eating 2 boxes each anyway.


BTW, where's the Olive Garden located?

 

[SandraC]

At CBR last year, I brought my own bread to the food court and toasted it! My family wanted a big breakky at the food court, but I wasn't that hungry, so I just brought my own bread that I purchased at the grocery store. I used CBR peanut butter. DH, DD and DS ate about $30 for breakky, so I figured a free use of the toaster and a peanut butter was okay.

DD14 wanted a late-night snack at the CBR food court, so I went to keep her company. Again, I wasn't that hungry, but the tomatoes, onions and lettuce looked REALLY good in the fixin's bar. So I made up a little salad and asked for honey dijon dressing....VOILA a little free salad!

Sandra

 

[dancin Disney style]

Not food but.....

I have a few boxes of the, now discontinued, Palmolive dish wipes. I bring a few to wash the cups and cutlery. I either cut them in half or hang up to dry to get another use out of each one.

Back to the food.....

How about a list of the free condiments in the food courts?

CSR has the most I have seen anywhere. They have all the usual ketchup, etc. plus mayo, cream cheese, jam, peanut butter, hot sauce.....I'm sure there is more that I can't remember right now.

 

[SandraC]

We really enjoy rest days in between park days.

A really fun way to enjoy a meal is to have a late afternoon picnic by the pool!

The pools are generally empty because folks are at the parks.

We bring:

fajitas
fruit
resort mugs for pink lemonade!

 

[surfer_ed]

We usually stay at DVC so there is a fridge and microwave. We started to use Microwave KD and those pre-cooked roasts and instant Mash Potatoes. I can't stend the microwave KD but the kids love it. Pre-cooked pot roast is better than I thought, mash potatoes are OK.

In the US there seems to be allot of choice for pre-cooked, processed meals. Not something I would do at home but saves $$, is also fast and easy.

Oh yeah, dont' forget the nachos.

 

[Bea]

We usually bring down plastic bowls/plates/cuttlery in our luggage as well as as some little boxes of cereal, cereal bars and granola bars. Takes up a bit of room but there has been times when our flight gets in late so we know the only thing we need to pick up right away is milk.

We use the microwave KD as other have suggested, and also micowave hotdogs - which the kids love . Our shopping list also includes tons of those prepackaged goldfish, crackers, cookies etc. Very easy to keep a few in my bag for the kids to munch on in those long lines.

 

[SandraC]

That's right GOLD FISH CRACKERS! We all like munching on them!

I used to pack food, bowls, etc.,. but we decided to go the carry-on route.. LOVE IT! So we just buy everything in Florida. I think we got 20 plastic bowls for a dollar at Walmart. I bring some munchy stuff for the airport, but my kids like to get something small to eat at the airport too....it's part of the trip. Usually only a muffin or something like that.

We also went to the beach....so instead of lugging down beach toys, I just went to a dollar store in Daytona Beach and spent about $10 on floaties, noodles, shovels, pails and other little beach toys. We just left them at the hotel for the next kiddies. $10 is a small price to pay for the luxury of just walking on and off the plane without having to check bags and collect them later.

Nachos are a great idea! We get them too, since we already have the salsa for the fajitas....it's a nice evening snack.

DS and I loved the little Mickey plate of grapes, swiss cheese and crackers at FQ, but they were $5! So we bought that sort of stuff too! YUM!

Sandra